Claims of 'incitement to suicide' after journalist falls to his death
By Andrew Osborn in Moscow
Published: 07 March 2007
A Russian journalist who plunged to his death in suspicious circumstances was investigating what he suspected were covert Kremlin arms deals with Iran and Syria shortly before he died.
Ivan Safronov, 51, military affairs correspondent of Kommersant newspaper, died last Friday after falling from a fourth floor window in his Moscow apartment block. Although there were no signs of foul play, his colleagues refuse to believe he committed suicide and the Moscow prosecutor's office has started a criminal investigation into possible "incitement to suicide". Kommersant disclosed yesterday that shortly before his death he had been working on an investigation whose findings would have caused an international scandal if proved.
Ilya Bulavinov, the newspaper's deputy editor, said he could not rule out the possibility that his death may have been linked to his work. The paper revealed that the journalist had been warned by the FSB security service not to publish the results of his investigation. If he went ahead, he was apparently told he would be charged with divulging state secrets. His colleagues say he had decided to play it safe and sit on the story.
The article, which was not published, claimed that Russia was negotiating to sell fighter jets and sophisticated surface-to-surface missiles to Syria and surface-to-air missiles to Iran. Safronov believed the arms shipments would be covertly routed via Belarus to allow Moscow to avoid Western allegations that it supported "rogue" states.
* Two US citizens who ingested the poison thallium, were in a serious condition yesterday, 10 days after falling ill in Moscow.
A spokeswoman for the Sklifosovsky Clinic, said the women were both in a" medium serious condition".
